The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-05-28


en- back to the Brock road by Longstreet's
men, we made a stand. l was behind
tree firing, with my rifle barrel resting
on the stub of a limb. Will was stand
ing by my side, but in the open. He,
with groan, doubled up, and dropped
on the ground at my feet. He looked
up at me. His face was pale. He gasp
ed for breath few times, and then said
family: "That ends me. am shot
through the bowels" =" said: "Crawl
to the rear. We are not far from the
intrenchments along the Brock road. !"
l saw him sit up, and indlstinctly saw
him reach for his rifle, which had fallen
from his hands as he fell. Again l
spoke to him to go the rear. He look
ed at me and said impatiently: 81 tell
you that am as good as dead. There
is no use in fooling with me. I shall
stay here" Then he pitched forward,
dead, shot again and through the head.
We fell back before ongstreet's ssoldiers
and left Will lying in a windrow of
When we got in the Brock road in
trenchments.a man few files to my lett
dropped dead, shot just above the right
eve. He did not groan or sigh or make
the slightest physical movement, except
that his chest heaved few times. The
life went out of his face instantly, leav-
ing it without a particle of expression.
1t was plastic, and, as the facial muscles
contracted, it took many shapes. When
this mans body became cold, and his
face hardened, it was horrible distorted,
as though he had suffered intensely.
Any person who had not seen him kill
ed, would have said that he endured
supreme agony before death released
him. A few minutes after he fell, an
other man, little farther to the left,
fell with apparently precisely similar
wound. He was straightened out and
lived for over an hour. He did moi
speak. Simply lay on his back, and
his broad chest rose and fell, slowly al
first, and then faster and faster, and
more and more feebly, until he was dead
| And his face hardened, and it was al
most terrifying in its painful distortion
I have seen dead soldiers faces which
were wreathed in smiles, and heard thei
comrades say that they had died happy
| do not believe that the face of deat
soldier, lying on a battlefield, ever truth
| fully indicates the mental or physica
anguish, or peacefulness ofmind, which
he suffered or enjoyed before his death
The face is plastic after death, and, a
the facial muscles cool and contract, the
draw the face into many shapes. Some
times the dead smile, again they star
with CLASSY eyes and lolling tongues ant
dreadfully distorted visages at you. l
goes for nothing. One death was pain
less as the other.
After Longstreet's soldiers had driv
en- the second corps into their entrench
ments along the Brock road, battle
exhausted infantryman stood behind
large oak tree. His back rested agains
it. He was very tired, and held n
rifle loosely in his hand. The Confeo
crates were directly in our front. Th
soldier was apparently in perfect safety
A solid shot from a Confederate gu
struck the oak tree squarely about for
feet from the ground, but it did not ha'
sufficient force to tear through the toug
wood. The soldier fell dead. Thel
was not a scratch on him. He was Kill
ed by conclusion.
While we were fighting savagely ov'
: these intrenchments the woods in Of
front caught fire, and l saw many of OF
wounded burn to death. Must they NJ
have suffered horribly! am not at q
sure of that. The smoke rolled heavi
}. and slowly before the fire. 1t envelope
}. the wounded, and 1 think that by f
the larger portion of the men who we